


At Least I Won't Get Bored

by iGoToExtremes



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: (kind of), Alternate Universe - No Band, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:53:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28452696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iGoToExtremes/pseuds/iGoToExtremes
Summary: Two lads meet at a bar.
Relationships: Charlie Barnes/Dan Smith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	At Least I Won't Get Bored

**Author's Note:**

> Usual disclaimers that this is a work of fiction, not intended to infringe on intellectual property nor implicate real events despite some resemblance to real-life individuals. 
> 
> Thanks to LastNightsGlitter for the beta.
> 
> Title from Standing in Front of the Mirror by To Kill a King. Lyrics in fic from Howling, also by To Kill a King.

**_i._ **

**_This is our life in love oh_ **

**_All at once begun when I let you know_ **

Charlie sidles up to the bar, glancing around at the sparse crowd. Among a smattering of other patrons is a cute lad with thick, voluminous dark hair, wearing a gray hoodie over a light blue button-up shirt, worn jeans, and slightly scuffed Converse sneakers. 

_ He looks like fun _ , Charlie thinks, looking away before the bloke catches him staring. 

His eyes scan the area for a bartender, but the only one who seems to be about dashes off to the kitchen before even acknowledging Charlie’s existence. 

“You reckon I’ll celebrate my next birthday before someone pulls me a pint?” he says cheekily. 

Gray Hoodie chuckles, then looks up. “Depends when it is,” he reasons. 

A moment later the bartender reappears, streaking by them without a glance. 

“Eyy, Tom,” the seated lad calls to him, indicating in Charlie’s direction with his head. 

“Sorry ‘bout that mate. What’ll ya have?”

Charlie orders his pint, sticking close by Gray Hoodie while it’s poured. 

“You come here often, then?” he asks, trying to sound casual. 

“Perhaps too often, yeah,” the bloke answers, sheepishly, his cheeks pinking. “I’m Dan.”

“M’Charlie.”

Dan subtly glances at the empty stool next to him, then back at Charlie. His eyes are an incredibly bright blue that could spark literal fireworks. 

Charlie quickly takes a seat. 

“So what, um, brings you about this evening?” 

“My mate recommended this place. Said the live music’s pretty swell.” There’s a man about their age with a guitar setting up as they speak. 

Dan swallows a generous gulp of beer, nodding toward the small stage area. “First act tonight is a good friend of mine, actually.”

“Ahh, are you a musician too then?”

“I dabble, but I’m not like Ralph. If he had his way I’d perform with him but I’m not nearly that polished, or confident.”

Charlie smirks a little, not sure how to respond to this bit of self-effacement besides moving along. “Least it means you’re here, and I can buy you a drink.”

Dan’s eyes are earnest and wide, and he holds Charlie’s gaze while finishing off the rest of his pint, as if to agree. 

**_ii._ **

**_This is where the cold wind bit_ **

**_Searching hands and fingertips find my own_ **

Ralph gives Dan a knowing look from the stage and Dan is sure his face is as red as a tomato. At least his friend’s music is pretty mellow and calming and helps him get his shit under control pretty quickly. 

“What do you think?” he asks Charlie between songs, during a rare moment of Ralph tuning his guitar instead of bantering with the crowd. 

The other man leans over to speak directly into Dan’s ear. “The hauntingly folksy tunes, you mean? Or the company?”

Fingertips graze Dan’s thigh, settling on his knee and sending a warm sensation through his body. 

They don’t talk any further during the set, a spark growing between them despite the absence of conversation. Dan finds himself mouthing the words to the songs he knows… which is basically all of them. Charlie nods along a little, his eyes occasionally flitting over to Dan’s face. 

“You fancy getting out of here?” Charlie asks quietly while Ralph is packing up. 

The warmth spreads all the way to Dan’s chest again, a stark contrast to the chilly autumn night. 

“More than a few references to death, yeah?” Charlie says, ostensibly about Ralph’s songs. “Yet somehow they’re not creepy?”

“Totally,” Dan agrees as they start along the sparsely populated sidewalk. “Not sure how he does that, really.”

He glances aside and finds Charlie smirking. 

“I liked the one about not getting bored as you grow old.”

“...because your partner is crazy? Sure.” Dan chuckles.

They walk in silence for another block, then turn onto a quieter street. 

Charlie clears his throat. “I’m just thinking…” 

“About?”

“If you’re too reticent to perform with your good mate Ralph, maybe something else is missing. A special shared chemistry, that sort of thing.” 

Their hands brush, then, fingers lacing together quite naturally thereafter. 

Dan feels his pulse pick up. “Chemistry, yeah,” he manages. “Maybe.” 

**_iii._ **

**_This is where the evening changed_ **

**_At once rearranged when you told me so_ **

“This is me,” Dan says, his stroll slowing to a stop in front of a modest building of flats.

“Mmmm,” Charlie offers in understanding. They’re standing facing one another, toes practically touching, still holding hands. 

Dan looks down at the ground for a beat, then at Charlie. This time, though, his expression bears more mischief than embarrassment. “D’you want to, maybe–”

Unable to help it, Charlie cuts him off with a searing kiss, gripping the lapels of Dan’s overcoat to steady himself as he raises on tiptoe to reach the other man’s mouth. “Yes,” he breathes when their lips separate for the briefest moment. 

Dan walks backwards up the steps, his hands on Charlie’s shoulders relying on him for balance. They break apart so Dan can unlock the front door, and Charlie lets him lead the way up the shabby staircase and to the door of a second-level flat. 

They enter into a modest sized living room, lit only by a streak of streetlight peeking in from the window. There’s a tidy rack of shoes by the door, two hooks for coats and keys, as well as a keyboard and a guitar each on a stand in a corner. But Charlie can’t take anything else in before Dan kisses him again, more intensely this time. 

They help each other shed their coats, letting both of them fall carelessly to the floor. Turning so Charlie’s facing backwards, Dan guides him across the dim space to a doorway. 

The bedroom has even less light than the living room thanks to some dark drapes. This keeps Charlie’s focus on the physical sensations – Dan’s lips on his neck, Dan’s fingers hurriedly unbuttoning his shirt while they hastily toe off their shoes, the soft plane of Dan’s stomach under his fingertips. 

It’s fast from there, falling onto the bed, hands urgently unfastening belts and trouser buttons before wrapping around one another. They struggle to kiss and breathe at the same time, lots of desperate gasps and moans filling the otherwise silent space. 

After, Charlie feels absurdly content, like he could legitimately spend the rest of his life laying there as they are. 

**_iv._ **

**_Oh how funny life gets_ **

**_This is our song in effect obviously, obviously_ **

Dan can’t control the burst of laughter. “‘Come here often?’ Seriously?”

Charlie sits up to deal with his trousers, which are still hanging precariously off of one ankle. “What?! That’s a typical conversation starter for a reason.” 

“Exactly,” Dan retorts, pulling his boxers back up before they settle together in the centre of the bed. “How basic can you be?!” 

Charlie snickers playfully, turning to rest his forearm and chin on Dan’s chest. “ _ What _ , like your innocently wide doe-eyes weren’t ‘basic’?” He smooths some of Dan’s hair up off of his forehead. 

“I can’t help how my eyes look,” he offers with a shrug. 

“They are indeed the first thing I noticed -  _ really _ noticed - about you. The actual first time we met.”

Dan looks back at Charlie’s wistfully smiling face. “You were a bit less forward then,” he points out. 

“All worked out all right though, I’d say,” Charlie assesses. “Do you think Tom noticed? Or Ralph?”

“That we were, uh, playing? God I hope not,” Dan groans. “Poor Tom is so overworked he wouldn’t notice anything. As for Ralph, I texted him this afternoon, told him we’d be there for his set but couldn’t stay after. Not the first time we’ve cut out on a night early for whatever reason.”

“Ah,” Charlie nods. “I just don’t want to get on his bad side, since I already poached you as a music partner and all.” 

“Hey, don’t do that,” Dan insists quietly. “He’s happy as long as we’re happy.”

“Mmmm.” Charlie kisses him then, as if to express his acquiescence. 

“Is this what you wanted, though? Tonight?” Dan asks cautiously. 

Charlie nods, his grin now wry and mischievous. “It’s exciting, no? Pretending it’s all new… makes you notice different things. Heightens the experience a bit.”

“I guess. But I got to come home with you at the end of it. S’all that matters to me.” He kisses the top of Charlie’s head. 

Charlie gets up, then, and Dan assumes he’s going to the loo. Instead, he stops at the dresser for a moment. Then he returns to the edge of the bed, where Dan is now sitting up, and stands between Dan’s knees. Even in the near-dark he can still see the loving sincerity on Charlie’s face. 

“It’s what matters to me, too. Obviously.” He reaches for Dan’s left hand and slips his ring back onto the appropriate finger, Dan noticing that Charlie’s is already back in place. 

Before he can say anything else, Charlie is kissing him again — soft at first, then giving way to something deeper. Charlie’s fingers tug at his hair and Dan feels almost dizzy with need; embarrassing, really, how quickly they can get each other going. 

Charlie’s lips trail across his jaw and ear. “Handcuffs?” he whispers. 

“Mmmph,” is all Dan can manage, grateful as well that he’ll never be bored, either. 

**Author's Note:**

> See what I did there? Hope you enjoyed that fun twist. 
> 
> This was originally intended to be part of the Libida Loca 'verse but I got carried away with Ralph being an influential side character and he (shamefully) did not appear in the other fic. Hopefully it works well enough on its own.


End file.
